Japan may well be known for its traditions and its anime, but how does the world’s biggest hobby fit in with Japanese culture? Within this article, we may discover that japan is actually much bigger on the gaming side of things than initially considered. In fact, it’s not just MOBA and MMORPGs that they love, when looking at Japan we can see a love of games running in their veins! 

Join me on a fetch-quest to bring the biggest Japanese games events to your screen. Maybe our reward will be an S-tier event!

10. BitSummit

​BitSummit 2019 Highlights

This event is the culmination of the hard work and dedication that the indie developers of japan face every day. While it is an event that accepts worldwide entries, the focus is on Japanese developers, which gives them a chance to be seen by players and larger developers alike, as well as a chance for their games to be picked up by multiple platforms. 

The event is open to the public, so ticket cost is indeed a thing, but as in line with most Japanese events, the cost is not extortionate. Let’s take a look at ticket cost, then we’ll talk about the things happening at BitSummit:

• Adults-2,000 yen or $15
• Highschoolers-1,000 yen or $7.50
• Children (Under 12)-Free entry

With prices like that, I can’t think of a better place to check out indie titles. Let’s take a look at what those prices get you in terms of stuff to do:

• Opening ceremony with Prof. Sakamoto
• Panel “Supporting the Game Community Globally”
• Panel “RPG Time: The Legend of Wright”
• Presentation of the Extra Credits
• Introduction to Coffee Stain Studios
• Introduction to OneorEight Studio
• Introduction to Game “Pick Up!”
• TikTok Live Talk
• Special Q/As
• BitSummit Focus
• Family Battle Arena
• PLAYISM Creator Talks
• Award Ceremony

Holy cow… That was a LOT of stuff. Good thing these take place over two days because it might be a bit much to get a person to attend all 24 events. Yes, I said 24, because the Focuses have multiple events as well as the Q/As and Playisms. They all have multiple events so staying tuned into all of them may prove to be a challenge.

Either way, you get your bang for buck event here at BitSummit.

BitSummit Twitter: https://twitter.com/BitSummit

9. Valorant Champions Tour

Valorant Champions tour Zeta vs FAV Highlight Reel

The event triggered something beautiful in attendance, garnering 13,000 live attendees and over 80,000 online live viewers. With this event taking so much attention, how did they do it? What happened to make them so suddenly popular with the Japanese crowd, so much so as to gather an immense following?

Well, it just so happens that it is ahidden popularity. What I mean by this is that the game itself is immensely popular on a person to person level, and it keeps fans enraptured with its speed and competition. The fact of the matter is that people support the things they love that they wish to see grow, and so, people turned out to support the tournament for the game they loved and the teams they cheered for.

The game garnered support, and so the market in japan gained recognition, which is slated to lead japan into a new esports era.

Valorant Champions Twitter: https://twitter.com/ValorantEsports

8. Games Market Autumn

Tokyo Games Market Walkthrough

This market is all about the board games, where small business board game devs come together to share their hard work with the world.  While this event is quite seriously suffering from covid numbers, in its prime it hosted many visitors who would flock to the Tokyo Big Sight to play in the dedicated sections and meet some of their favorite small games developers.

Beyond just board games, youll find mini figs, costumes and props, artists, and many people who are passionate about whatever craft they call their own. The developers and companies are not restricted, which makes every game feel that much more passionate.

The market is held three times every year, once in spring, once in autumn and once in winter.

No Official Account, this user often talks about TMA: https://twitter.com/saigo012

7. Esports North Asia Summit

No youtube video, watch japanese Esports Highlights instead!

This is essentially an esports gathering to discuss the future of esports in places it may not be wholly prominent, such as Japan, and how expanding the market to reach these areas might benefit esports leagues as a collective. There are a multitude of speakers, all considered experts on the matter who have enough sway to speak both consistently and eloquently on the matter.

Its a gathering of bright minds who all want to see the industry grow. Not exactly what you would expect from the word “Esports”, but who is to judge those who want to see improvement in what they love. Right, moving on, this is not a huge event, but it still deserves a place on this list, due to its overall importance to the esports industry.

No official twitter, this account does coverage: https://twitter.com/IQPCAsia

6. Capcom Pro Tour

Capcom Pro Tour Highlight Reel

This is a live competition for Capcom’s Street Fighter game, where fans tune in all over the world to see Japan’s best players’ energy blast and flying kick their enemies into oblivion. The goal? Win, and look good doing it. The showy types get the most hype, but be careful, too much showmanship rides a fine line of bad sportsmanship. Beat your opponent into the gravel respectfully, and when they throw their controller, they’ll be the ones in trouble, not you.

The total prize pool is $600,000, so with a peak of over 70,000 people watching, you’d best not get cold feet.

Capcom Competition Twitter: https://twitter.com/CapcomFighters
 

5. Indie Games Connect

There are no released videos on this recent event, so take a peek at this cool video surrounding the konami code!

I’ve got one word for you. Free. Ok, maybe there are more words here than I let on. This event is held by Konami, at their dedicated center located in beautiful Ginza Tokyo. Oh, yea, it’s a brand new event as well, and just made its debut in June of this year. 

The event is built around its name, allowing indie developers a platform to get their games into the public eye. This is the peak of its kind of event thus far, but as of writing this, we don’t have released attendance numbers to determine its total size, so it’s middle of the road on this list. 

The event, as I mentioned before, is totally free to both the public and vendors. This gives a large and easily accessible platform for gamers and developers to show off and buy.

No twitter, see if you can pet the dog in your favorite games: https://twitter.com/CanYouPetTheDog

4. World Hobby Fair

World Hobby Fair Tour

This is a doozy, as it envelopes video games, board games, card games, and any other hobby you might dream up. Seriously, it is saddening how sparse the information available on this event happens to be, because it looks like a great time when one does find info on it. 

This is one of those events that just seems hidden, but at the same time immensely popular, because all the big names attend, such as Nintendo, Capcom, and Konami. They bring to the table a multitude of arcade cabinets, merchandise, minis, and upcoming games. It truly is a time to be joyous about what you love. I will sneak in the reminder that this one has been noted online for being… sweaty.

World Hobby Fair Twitter(Empty): https://twitter.com/WorldHobbyFair

3. Indie Live Expo

Indie Live Expo Release Trailer

This is a live streamed expo, which delves into, well… Indie games. It seems Japan is very much so into giving a platform to smaller dev teams, which is absolutely awesome. There is so much that the western set of countries can learn from japan, most of which come along the lines of capitalistic honorability. Let the little guy have a chance at the big stage, basically. 

The event garners views from around the world, but is based in japan, so it makes its place on this list fairly. In their last live event, they raked in 15 million views over two days. Impressive enough to put them right near the top of this list!

Indie Live Expo Twitter: https://twitter.com/INDIELiveExpoEN

2. Pokemon Players Cup

Pokemon Players Cup II Finals

This pokemon battle event takes place over an extended season, wearing battles take place through multiple levels:

• Trading Card Game Players
• Sword and Shield Players
• Pokken Tournament DX Players

These players will compete within their categories to win expense-paid tickets to finals matches elsewhere, and a total prize pool of $15,750, top prize being $5,000. Viewership for the finals in 2021 peaked at 32,000 people live. This event is hardly anything to scoff at, as it leads into the world championship, which garnered about 800,000 live views at its peak.

Pokemon sport twitter: https://twitter.com/playpokemon

1. Tokyo Game Show

Tokyo Game Show Cosplay Highlights

Tokyo is a host to so many brilliant events, and Tokyo Game Show is one of the most fantastical. 300,000 attendees pile into Makuhari Messe in Chiba, ready to devour new releases and indy devs like little german boys in devouring chocolate rivers. Just try not to get stuck in the pipeline while you wait to try out the latest spiderman release.

The event may draw hundreds of thousands of attendees, but what do the ticket costs look like? Will it be deathly expensive or will it be an absolute steal? Let’s find out together:

One day ticket-2,300 yen or $17.50

One afternoon ticket-1,300 yen or $9.80

That, my friends, qualifies as a steal. Especially compared to an event of similar size in the USA such as PAX or E3. The things you can do here are truly wonderful, from discovering new titles to signing up for beta tests and panels, here’s the full list:

• Keynote industry speeches
• Live stream events
• Free play of trial games
• Indy title representation
• Japan Game Awards

Along with all this cool stuff, there is a plethora of exclusive merchandise constantly being sold from big-name developers and indie devs alike.

Tokyo Game Show Twitter: https://twitter.com/tokyo_game_show